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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29213625">To Love A Brother</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloopy/pseuds/bloopy'>bloopy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Baby Kageyama Tobio, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Mostly fluffy I think, Oikawa is a Good Brother, Some angst, cute baby, like a light sprinkling of angst, or...he tries to be, sibling age gaps are a struggle sometimes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:40:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,868</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29213625</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloopy/pseuds/bloopy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"There were many things in life that were simple facts to Tobio. The sky was blue, the best drink was milk, and he had the coolest older brother ever. "</p>
<p>Now.....if only his brother could actually hang out with him as much as he wants.....</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kageyama Tobio &amp; Oikawa Tooru</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>191</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>To Love A Brother</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/KhaleesiBoleyn/gifts">KhaleesiBoleyn</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There were many things in life that were simple facts to Tobio. The sky was blue, the best drink was milk, and he had the </span>
  <em>
    <span>coolest</span>
  </em>
  <span> older brother ever. His classmate’s older brothers were either students in middle school or high school. Tobio’s older brother was in college and he played volleyball in college too! No one else’s older brothers played volleyball! Tobio couldn’t wait until summer vacation when his brother would be back home for a whole month!</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It took forever (4 days) but summer vacation was finally here! Tobio ran downstairs on the first day of vacation and was disappointed to see that the only people around were his parents. His father laughed at the disappointed look on his son’s face. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tobio-kun don’t you remember I told you that Toru-kun is coming in the afternoon.” Tobio blushed as his father kept laughing at his forgetfulness. He stomped over to the table and started eating the food his step-mom put out. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry Tobio-kun. When that idiot comes back I'll make sure he spends some time with you! You wanted to surprise him with your volleyball skills right!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio nodded fervently. He decided to join the volleyball club because of how cool Toru always looked while he was playing. His coach told Tobio he had natural talent and was way better than other kids in his class, so Tobio couldn't wait to show off to his big brother!</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next few hours felt like they took an entire year, but finally, they heard the sound of a car pulling up in the driveway. Tobio squealed as he opened the door and ran excitedly towards Toru’s car. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well well well. Looks like someone missed me!” Toru grinned at the small child that was jumping up and down like an excited puppy. He scooped up his little brother and put him high on his shoulders before walking over to give his mom a hug. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh Toru I cannot believe how tall you’ve gotten!” she gushed over her son as he tried squirming away from her pinching. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, the family settled down for dinner with Tobio immediately bombarding his brother with questions about volleyball and college the entire night until he tired himself out. Tobio went to sleep thinking only one thing: I have the best big brother in the world. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>----</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Over the next week, Toru divided his time between his family and seeing his old friends again. He usually only spent the evenings with his friends, which worked out fine with Tobio who was too young to stay up late. One week later though, everything changed with the arrival of a particular person. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio walked up to the ringing doorbell. His parents were out doing errands and Toru was making snacks in the kitchen. Tobio was left to open the door for….</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Haji-niichan!” Tobio shouted excitedly as he jumped on to Iwaizumi, who had thankfully become very accustomed to having Tobio launch himself at him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey there Tobio-kun. Did ya miss me?” Iwaizumi had gotten way tanner and maybe even taller in Tobio’s eyes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio nodded excitedly. “Toru-nii said that you couldn’t come home this summer!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah but that was mostly me wanting to surprise him. Speaking of the idiot, where is he?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio was placed on the floor as he excitedly dragged Iwaizumi towards the kitchen. Tobio was now even more happy than the beginning of summer! He had </span>
  <em>
    <span>both</span>
  </em>
  <span> of his cool older brother figures back which meant double the fun!</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Iwaizumi was led into the kitchen and leaned against the counter as Toru had his back to him making sandwiches. He was completely engrossed in the food in front of him, that he didn’t notice anyone enter the kitchen until….</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tobio-chan who was at the-IWA-CHAAAN!” Iwaizumi braced himself as his best friend dropped his knife and jumped into his arms. Toru then began to repeatedly punch Iwaizumi’s arms while trying not to show how much he wanted to cry. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Guess this means you like my surprise.” Iwaizumi grinned cheekily. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m going to kill you. I can't believe you convinced me that you couldn't make it home after our first year of university.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can't believe it was that easy to convince you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two old friends laughed before Oikawa pulled out more bread and began making a sandwich for Iwaizumi as well. Tobio sat on the chair and watched them interact with a smile on his face. Things couldn't get better than this!</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tobio-chan what’s wrong honey?” Oikawa Makoto asked as Tobio sat at the dinner table with an uncharacteristically serious expression. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothin.” he muttered as he stabbed a fork into his pasta. He heard his father put down his own fork and braced himself for a lecture. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Now Tobio-kun. When your mother asks you something, you know you have to answer.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio kept staring at his food, before finally sighing and looking up at his parents. “I don’t want Haji-nii to come anymore.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Both of his parents were shocked. In the two years Tobio had known Iwaizumi, he had loved the older boy almost as much as he loved his older brother. They both looked at each other, feeling completely blindsided by the 6-year old’s declaration. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Honey, would you like to explain why? You usually love spending time with Toru and Hajime.” Makoto tried asking. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A few more minutes of silence until…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He keeps taking Toru-nii away from me!” Tobio blurted out, feeling some relief at getting that secret off his chest. “First Toru-nii told me that he’s spending time with Haji-nii because he missed him so much, but now he doesn’t even hang out with </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> anymore. I miss Toru-nii too! Why can’t he hang out with me anymore! He used to hang out until Haji-nii came back so it's his fault!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The parents looked at their little boy who was panting with the effort of giving that speech. On some level, they knew that Tobio was right and that Toru had spent maybe a total of five hours at home this entire week, spending the rest of the time catching up with Hajime and the other boys. On the other hand, it was hard to explain to a 6-year old that their older sibling by 13 years, found them a little boring to hang out with. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually Makoto sighed and moved to sit next to Tobio. “Tobio-chan. How about tomorrow, we spend the entire day together just you and me? No Tou-san, no Toru-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“NO!” Makoto flinched at the sudden volume. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I WANT TORU-NII NOT YOU!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tobio, that is not how you speak to your mother. If you need to go calm down then go to your room and come back when you’re ready to have a calm discussion.” Kageyama Daisuke’s voice rang out with authority. Tobio glared at both of them before running up to his room and slamming the door loud enough to be heard downstairs. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The parents looked at each other and sighed as they tried to wrack their brains for a simple solution. Eventually, they decided to tell Tobio that if he wanted to hang out with Toru, he had to just be clear with what he wanted, which led to this:</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Over the next couple of days, Toru noticed that for some reason, Tobio was becoming a lot more annoying. Whenever he was at home, he would always go and bother him to the point where Toru had taken to going to the bathroom for extended periods of time for some quiet time alone. Finally, he snapped and decided to nip the problem in the bud. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tobio-chan. I’m tired. Maybe we can play volleyball later today okay?” Toru looked up at his baby brother who was standing next to his bed holding a volleyball expectantly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But you always go out! Why can’t you stay home for once!” Tobio asked, trying his best not to sound too whiny. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa rolled his eyes. He spent plenty of time with Tobio. Why was he making a big deal now? “I stay home plenty. It’s not my job to babysit you all day. You know I have my own friends right?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio scrunched his face in concentration before finally announcing: “Can I come with you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I come with you to see your friends? I’ll be good I promise!” Oikawa sat up in bed as he considered. On one hand, he didn’t want to keep babysitting, but on the other hand, if he took Tobio out with him then he would be able to convince him to stop bothering him all the time, and his mother would stop asking him why he doesn’t spend time with his brother. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He looked down at the child who was trying to make his eyes all big and adorable (they weren’t adorable-not at all, Toru’s heart wasn’t melting at alllllll). “Alright fiiiiiine. We’re going out to a restaurant today so if you promise to behave, you can come with me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio cheered and for a second, Toru smiled as a warmth entered his heart. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>----</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Toru regretted every life choice he ever made that led him to this moment. He was going out with Iwaizumi, Matsukawa, and Hanamaki. They all knew about his mom marrying Tobio’s dad while they were still in highschool, but they had never met Tobio before. He had brought some coloring books and volleyball magazines to entertain Tobio with for when he got bored. Toru didn’t expect that </span>
  <em>
    <span>he </span>
  </em>
  <span>would be the one needing them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He groaned as Hanamaki and Matsukawa kept trying to see who could make Tobio laugh the hardest with their dumb jokes. Iwaizumi was watching them, mostly to make sure that Tobio didn’t accidentally choke on his juice by laughing too hard. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright I think we’ve had enough of this for now.” Oikawa tried saying, only to get booed by everyone. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Just because you don’t want to have fun with your little brother, doesn't mean you have to deprive the rest of us Oikawa.” Hanamaki replied as he took out his phone to take a picture of Tobio trying to slurp noodles. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah I can’t believe we never met this little guy before.” Matsukawa added as he finally took pity on Tobio and decided to feed him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa began to sulk until he felt a punch on his shoulder. He didn’t bother looking, already knowing who it was. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t seriously be jealous of a 6-year old.” Iwaizumi grouched. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not!” Oikawa crossed his arms knowing he looked like an elementary schooler. He rolled his eyes and decided that at least Tobio wasn’t causing any trouble. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, Hanamaki decided to cause chaos by asking Tobio an innocent question. “Sooo Tobio-chan. Who’s your favorite person out of us? Obviously you can’t pick your brother though.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The other three perked up and stared at Tobio, whose face was scrunched in concentration. Finally, after some deep thought Tobio chirped out: “Makii-nii chan because his hair looks like cotton candy!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Matsukawa and Oikawa laughed as Hanamaki didn’t know whether to be flattered or offended by the hair comparison. The only person that didn’t look too happy was Iwaizumi who stared at Tobio with a feeling of sadness in his heart. Sure the 6-year old could love whoever he wanted, but Iwaizumi had thought that after knowing Tobio for two years, it wouldn’t be so easy to dismiss him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait Tobio-chan. Why didn’t you pick Iwa-cha? I mean you’ve known him longer.” Oikawa had the same line of thought as Iwaizumi, Tobio’s answer having shocked him too. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio just shrugged and refused to elaborate. The older boys had gotten very curious now and after some persuasion, Tobio broke.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Haji-nii keeps taking Toru-nii away from me. Makki-nii and Mattsun-nii don’t do that!” Tobio said as he crossed his arms and looked down on the floor. Suddenly, the lighthearted atmosphere changed completely as the four boys looked at each other, unable to think of what to say next. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa looked at his best friend of 13 years and when he saw Iwaizumi looking at Tobio with a measure of guilt in his eyes, he got angry at his little brother. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tobio-chan. I already told you that I can’t always hang out with you. I have my friends too just like you have your own. It's not fair if i stay with you all day.” Oikawa fought to keep his voice level, knowing that raising his voice at Tobio would only make him more mad. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio shrugged. He didn’t feel too happy anymore. He thought that if he said what was on his mind, Toru would apologize and promise to make it up to him, or tell Hajime not to hang out with him anymore, but Toru was blaming him! Tobio didn’t like how his plan ended at all! He turned towards his brother and made sure to avoid his angry gaze.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I wanna go home. I’m tired.” Tobio decided that he had had enough of social interaction for one day.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa spluttered. “B-but we’ve only been here for a little-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Trashykawa. I think you should let him go home and rest. We can meet…..later.” Iwaizumi spoke gruffly, not wanting to look Oikawa in the eye. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, after some quick and slightly awkward goodbyes, Oikawa dragged Tobio to the house. To both the boys’ surprise, their parents were waiting with huge grins on their faces.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh I’m so glad you boys are home early! We have big news for you!” Makoto said excitedly  as she ushered them to sit down. When everyone was settled, she looked at her husband and exclaimed:</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re going on a business trip! Our company selected us both to fly to Korea for an important conference. It’ll be a bit of a long trip but we’ll be back before you leave again Toru. Isn’t this amazing! Now you boys have more time to spend with each other!” Makoto kept talking about all the fun things they could do together, as Toru tried not to show his horror on his face. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Three weeks alone…..with his little brother. He had only spent a few hours with him alone in all the time he’d known him! How was he supposed to do this! Toru tried to plead with his mother but she refused to budge, saying how good this would be for them both. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next day, their parents were gone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took Oikawa three days to snap. He was surprised he managed to last that long, with how incessantly annoying Tobio had gotten. Oikawa was followed around </span>
  <em>
    <span>all day</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He couldn’t escape anywhere because Tobio was 6 and if his mother found out he was left alone at home for more than an hour, Oikawa was dead meat. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>To make matters worse, Iwaizumi refused to come over to help babysit. Apparently, he still felt guilty over what Tobio said, even after Oikawa tried to tell him to ignore the annoying child. He told Oikawa that there was still plenty of time before university started, and they could hang out in a few days after things settled. After that conversion, Oikawa’s mood exponentially soured, leading to this:</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Toru-nii! Can we play volleyball? I wanna see your super cool sets!” Tobio walked up to his brother with excitement. Unfortunately, all he got was a glare. Tobio was not one to give up easily though, so he tried again. And again. And again. And again, until finally….</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“OH MY GOD STOP ASKING ME TO PLAY!” Oikawa roared.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio flinched and took a few steps back. “B-but…. I thought Toru-nii would want to play with me!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How many times have I told you…..I can’t play with you 24/7! There are things that </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> want to do as well that I can’t because of you!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Because…..of me?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes! It’s your fault that Iwaizumi doesn’t want to come over and it’s your fault that I have to babysit you all day every day when I should be catching up with my friends!” Oikawa was unable to control the burning red he felt. It tinted his vision, clouding him from seeing the slowly breaking expression on Tobio’s face. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, Tobio shoved his ball in Oikawa’s lap and ran upstairs without another word. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Later that afternoon, Tobio slowly made his way downstairs and heard his name being mentioned. He walked faster and saw his brother on the phone laying down on the couch. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Iwa-chan you don’t have siblings so you can’t have an opinion about this. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You don’t understand how annoying Tobio can be sometimes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I’m 19 and he’s not even 7 yet, what could we possibly have in common?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ugh I don’t hate the kid. I wish he’d stop bothering me so much though. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Pleeease come tomorrow. I can’t take another day of this. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Whatever. Yeah. Bye.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio stared at his brother from across the room, before quickly sprinting back upstairs. He collapsed on his bed as he suddenly found himself unable to breathe. He…. he didn’t think he was being such a bother….</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio tasted something salty as he realized he was crying. He looked up towards his dresser, where a picture of Toru carrying Tobio last year at their parent’s wedding was on display. They both looked like they were having so much fun. Tobio gasped as he realized….he hadn’t seen Toru smile that much recently. At least...he didn’t smile that much when he was around him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio wiped his eyes and decided….if him not hanging out with Toru would make Toru smile again, then so be it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next day, Iwaizumi entered the house with some level of apprehension. Oikawa had asked him at some point why he cared so much about a 6-year old’s opinion and Iwiazumi didn’t really know how to explain it. He just knew that Tobio was like the little brother he never had, and hearing his disappointment broke his heart. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He smiled as he laid eyes on his best friend who immediately began to talk a mile a minute about how bored he’d been. At least one person would always stay the same. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>An hour later, Iwaizumi finally saw Tobio again. He tensed as he waited for any kind of reaction as Tobio stared at him blankly. Finally, he spoke. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Haji-nii! I didn’t know you were coming today!” Tobio exclaimed brightly as he gave Iwaiuzmi a hug. Iwaizumi felt like his heart melted at that gesture. Tobio then grabbed a cereal bar from the kitchen before running upstairs saying he had important business to do. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Important business?” Iwaizumi spoke with an amused tone. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa shrugged. “He’s been saying that all morning. If the kid wants some time alone, you won’t see me complaining.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Over the next couple of days, Iwaizumi began spending more time at Oikawa’s house now that he knew Tobio was no longer mad. Tobio barely hung out with the older kids though, instead he spent most of his time in his room refusing to answer questions about what he was doing. Finally, Iwaizumi’s grandparents came to visit, which meant that he would have to spend the next few days at home with them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa spent the first day without Iwaizumi busy shopping and running errands, slightly annoyed that Tobio refused to come and help. The next day, he told Tobio that he had been invited to eat out with the other boys who were interested in seeing Tobio again, but to his surprise, Tobio refused and said he wanted to stay home. Oikawa felt like there was something in his life missing, which made him uneasy, but he couldn’t figure out what was wrong. The third day was when Oikawa really began to suspect something was wrong. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tobio-chan. Makki and Mattsun invited me to play volleyball in the park. Wanna come with me?” Oikawa rapped his knuckles on the door of his brother’s room. He got no response. Oikawa rolled his eyes as he knocked harder. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oi. Tobio-chan I won’t ask again. Either you come with me or I leave you here alone.” Oikawa snapped. He heard honking outside and rolled his eyes. His idiot brother could stay alone if he was determined to be stubborn. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A few hours later, Oikawa got home and began to look for a towel. It had begun to pour when they were out, ultimately cancelling their game. “Tobio-chaaaan. Can you bring me a towel please!” Oikawa called out, not wanting to drip water everywhere. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A few minutes passed with no response. Oikawa’s frustration grew. Tobio had been virtually ignoring him for a few days now, only speaking when he wanted something at the dinner table. Oikawa ignored the nagging in his gut as he finally sprinted up the stairs to find his brother’s door still closed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tobio-chan. If you don’t open the door now, I’m coming inside.” Oikawa called out. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He waited for a few beats before finally opening the door to find…..the room completely empty. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa could count on one hand the number of times he felt true fear…...but this, this was a fear unlike any he had felt. It crawled up his body, choking his throat and making it hard to breathe. It caused tears to leak from his eyes, whether from worry or frustration, he didn’t know. The fear made him shiver as goosebumps appeared on his arms. It froze him to the spot until he finally found the energy to move. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He grabbed the letter on Tobios bed with shaky hands before finally releasing a breath he didn’t know he was holding as he read it’s contents. He steadied his hands before calling a phone number. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello. Who is this?” A woman’s voice spoke through the phone. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah. Am I speaking to Hinata-san?” Oikawa asked sheepishly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh yes! That’s me. How can I help you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“My name is Oikawa Toru. Um I don’t know if you’ve heard of me but-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh who hasn’t heard of you Oikawa-kun! You’re all Tobio-chan ever talks about! I’m pretty sure all the kids in his class are jealous because he has such a cool older brother. My Shou-chan cried when I told him it wasn’t possible for me to give him an older brother like you.” she laughed brightly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa, if possible, felt even worse. A tendril of guilt had crept up as Hinata had been speaking, growing larger and larger the more she spoke. Finally, he swallowed back the emotion and asked what he’d been meaning to ask.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Right, um thank you. I was wondering if I could speak to Tobio-chan?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Speak to him? He’s not here though.” Oikawa’s heart dropped.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“W-what do you mean he’s not here? He said he was going to visit his friend Hinata.” Oikawa said as he glanced down at the note again. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He heard a worried gasp on the other end of the line. “Oh Oikawa-kun. I live in the mountains outside the village. Tobio-chan wouldn’t be able to come here without someone driving him! Please don’t tell me he tried to come here by himself in this horrible weather!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa let out a shaky breath. No use in having her panic. “Oh no-no. Sorry Hinata-san there must’ve been a misunderstanding. Um...I need to go right now though. Thank you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oikawa-” he hung up the line before she could reply. Oikawa stared at the letter in his hands, and finally let the tears fall. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>lost</span>
  </em>
  <span> your brother! You lost him! How on earth could you be so stupid!” Oikawa flinched as Iwaizumi paced in front of him, having run from his house at his friend’s panicked call. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Finally Oikawa snapped. “Hajime nothing you could say to me right now could be worse than what I’m already saying to myself! Save the lecture for later and help me find my little brother...</span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Iwaizumi’s eyes softened. “Alright. I’m sorry for yelling. It’s still raining so we need to move fast. He’s a smart kid but he is also just a kid so he can’t have gone far. Do you wanna call Makki and Mattsun to help?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa shook his head furiously. “No way, they’ll probably get mad at themselves for telling me to come with them. Also Tobio’s only met them once so he may not want to go to them if he finds them.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Iwaizumi nodded before putting on his raincoat again and getting ready to leave. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They searched for hours, both in the middle of town, as well as the nearby parks going to every place a 6-year old might go to get out of rain. Oikawa finally decided to try and walk the mountain path, hoping that Tobio didn’t attempt it himself. Unfortunately, as he walked, he stumbled upon the sound of crying. Crashing through the bushes he saw Tobio...his adorable brother….curled up under a rock for shade while crying his eyes out. The sight of it both melted and broke Oikawa’s heart. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tobio-chan.” Oikawa approached him softly. Tobio began to cry harder. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Tobio-chan. Is it okay if I sit next to you?” Oikawa felt relieved when he saw a nod, immediately plopping down on the ground next to his brother as he held an umbrella to cover him from the rain. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa waited until the sobs quited down, and Tobio spoke. “Are you still mad at me?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What! Of course not. And for the record I was never mad at you, just a little annoyed.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio sighed. “I’m sorry for annoying you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa’s heart clenched and he knew that because this mess was his fault, he had to make sure to resolve it before it got more out of hand. “It’s fine…..you’re my little brother so it’s okay if you annoy me. I was being rude as well. I didn’t…..I didn’t think it would make a difference if I hung out with you a lot because we don’t see each other much all year either.” Of course there was also the fact that despite being brothers, Oikawa had only known Tobio for two years. Two years out of 19 was a lot less significant than two years out of 6 and Oikawa couldn’t believe he forgot to factor that into account. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio sniffed as he leaned closer to the warmth. “So you don’t wanna get rid of me?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nah. You’re alright enough I guess.” Oikawa’s voice became teasing and Tobio looked up at him with a grin. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa was about to say something else before Tobio sneezed three times in succession. Oikawa cursed as he took a second look at his brother….his brother who’s cheeks were flushed not because of crying, but because he was outside in the rain for hours!</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh I completely forgot you’ve been out for hours! You probably feel horrible right now! Ack I’m such a horrible brother...here come on.” Oikawa scooped Tobio up with one arm while making sure to hold the umbrella over them both. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not…” Tobio mumbled while leaning into Oikawa’s warmth as exhaustion began to overtake him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not what?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not a bad brother Toru-nii.” Tobio mumbled again before drifting off to sleep. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa smiled softly as he looked down at his adorable brother, before running as fast as he could to get them both dry as soon as possible. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>To no one’s surprise, Tobio got sick. Oikawa spent the next week nursing his brother back to health by constantly making him soup and putting on all the kids movies they owned on the TV. It led to a lot of talking between the brothers, and Oikawa realized that it was possible to have a few things in common with someone 13 years younger than you. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Not everything was smooth sailing though. There were a couple of scary moments, like Tobio’s fever spiking in the middle of the night once, making Oikawa burst into tears as he called Iwaizumi in a panic, but when the fever broke a few hours later and as Tobio smiled weakly at his brother, he knew all would be well. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, Tobio stopped sniffing and sneezing all the time and he ran downstairs excitedly for breakfast while chattering away about everything he wanted to do today. Oikawa grinned, as a piece of his heart fell back into place. He was missing </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tobio</span>
  </em>
  <span>! The uneasiness he had felt was because of no little brother bothering him! </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio was surprised when his big brother put down his spatula and attacked him in a hug while blabbering about how much he missed him. Tobio was confused, he had been at home for the past week….so why was he being missed? Unfortunately, Oikawa refused to elaborate. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Later that day, Tobio went to play volleyball with Oikawa and the other boys. He proudly proclaimed that he wanted to be a setter like his brother, so they told him to give Iwaizumi a set for fun. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Um what just happened!” Matsukawa exclaimed when Tobio delivered a set almost perfectly to where Iwaizumi was. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They all stared at the little kid who was grinning with joy. “I’m like Toru-nii aren’t I!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <span>Oikawa grinned before staring at his friends. “Yeah guys. Why are you so surprised about how good he is? He’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>my </span>
  </em>
  <span>little brother after all!” </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you to KhaleesiBoleyn who inspired me to write this! Idk if I did your wonderful suggestion any justice but year. As someone with little cousins that are waaayyyy younger than I am, I really do feel like Oikawa when writing this :P</p></blockquote></div></div>
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